Year 5 Summer 2 Curriculum Information

Welcome back for the final time of Year Five. It has been an amazing year, and I would love the last five weeks to end with such a positive ending. We have so much going on this term with trips, sporting events and normal day to day lessons, so please make sure you are keeping up to date with dojo.

Our class read this half term will be the class novel 'Great Expectations' written by one of the most famous authors Charles Dickens. Great Expectations is a coming-of-age novel, and it is a classic work of Victorian literature. It depicts the growth and personal development of an orphan named Pip. This has a great link to our history topic, 'The Victorians'.

In English, we have finally finished our 'One small Step' writing all about Luna wanting to become an astronaut. We followed her life's journey through the trials and tribulations that life throws at a person trying to reach their goal. I was extremely pleased with the outcomes of this piece of writing for all students. This term, we continue with the space theme, where we will write a non-narrative report about the landing of Mars. Something only machinery has been able to do so far. Our vocabulary from last term's space topic will come in extremely handy during the writing of this. Finally, we will end our writing with a poem linked to our VIPERS lessons, concluding our English writing this year.

For Maths, we continue our knowledge of decimals and percentages. We will be moving on shape during the remaining part of the term. It's amazing looking at how far each pupil's understanding has come in maths this year. I want everyone to try and secure as many times tables as possible during this term reading for Year Six. I can't stress how impactful this will be for your child's understanding of primary school mathematics.

In Physical Education, we continue our development of athletics and outdoor adventure activities, where the class will be completing some orienteering at school. In our games sport we will be playing netball, which having learnt the rules and taught this at my old school I realised how good a game netball is.

In geography lessons this term, we will be moving away from the other side of the world (New Zealand and Australia) and back to a local study of Melton Mowbray. After planning this unit during the holidays, I am really excited by some of the tasks, which require fieldwork and looking at Melton's local environmental issues. This will be a great ending to our geography lessons. Our big question during this term is 'what would I find in my local area?'

We continue down the chronological timeline of past events and work our way into Victorian times for history. Having learnt about the industrial revolution and the early British Empire, the class will already have some prior knowledge of the Victorians. I always remember being fascinated by these times when I was taught this at primary school. I hope to bring the learning to life with some drama themed lessons. Our big question during this term is 'what was life like in 'The Victorian age?

Finally, in science, we will be learning about meteorology, which links to the Earth's atmosphere and weather systems. Something we have already briefly touched on during our space topic the last term. I think an absolute highlight during this year will be our space station trip on the first Wednesday back. I can't wait for this trip myself. Our big question this term for science will be 'how are humans affecting Earth's atmosphere?'                            

As mentioned previously, a lot is happening during this term. Just in our first three days back, we have a science trip, and Jubilee Day, so please make sure you keep up to date with dojo, and I will try and get messages across in good time. Thanks as always, Mr Dalby.

Year 5 Summer 1 Curriculum Information

Welcome back Year Five! I hope everyone has had a brilliant Easter Holidays and haven’t eaten too much chocolate!

Our class read will continue to be ‘Wonder’ which is a brutally powerful story of a 10-year-old boy named August Pullman, who has a facial abnormality. As a class we have been really enjoying August’s journey of starting at a new school. I am hoping this story, based on true events, will continue to promote our kindness/acceptance value. During the second part of the term, our class read will be ‘Tin’ by Padraig Kenny, which is all about a boy called Christopher. Christopher is 'Proper': a real boy with a real soul, orphaned in a fire. He works for an engineer, a maker of the eccentric, loyal and totally individual mechanicals who are Christopher's best friends. But after a devastating accident, a secret is revealed, and Christopher's world is changed for ever.

In English our non-narrative writing will focus on earthquakes which has some link to our new geography topic which all about the Pacific Islands and New Zealand. We are particularly focusing the writing on a non-chronological report. During the second half of the term our creative narrative writing focuses on interesting science fiction video called ‘One Small Step by Taiko Studios’.

For Maths the first couple of weeks we will continue our development of decimals. Previously, in decimals we have focused on adding/subtracting and looking at tenths, hundredths and thousandths. In this term we will be linking our decimal work to fraction and percentages. This requires a secure knowledge of times-tables. Please can we make sure that all students to continue to develop this at home; you can sing, shout, and chant those times-tables every night. Furthermore, we will move on to decimals and percentages which has many links to a good understanding of fractions.

In Physical Education we move onto more summer sports. One of our P.E lessons will focus on our development of athletics which will be a fantastic sequence of lessons to get ready for sports day. Our other lesson will be swimming which I am really looking forward to. My aim is to try and get as many children to swim 25m as possible.

In our geography lessons this term we will be extending our knowledge of the other side of the world as we stay in the same region of Oceania where we will be looking closely at New Zealand and Pacific Islands; A place with lots of heritage and great geographical features. Our big question is ‘Why would the South Pacific be a good place to visit?’

For history we continue along our timeline where the Slave Trade ended, and the ‘Industrial Revolution’ began. We will be looking closely at what life was like in the 1800s in Britain and how this boom of industry impacted life in Great Britain. Our big question is ‘How did the industrial revolution change Britain and the world?’

In Science our new topic is all about astronomy and space. There should be some interesting new learning taking place in these lessons. We will also have a trip to the National Space Centre which will provide an exciting opportunity to extend our knowledge. Our big question is ‘What is within our solar system?’

There are lots of other exciting things happening this term including – an Interactive Shakespeare Assembly from the Creative Learning Services where the children will be able to continue to develop their learning about the playwright William Shakespeare and an interactive assembly where the children will learn about VE day/

 Please keep up to date with Class Dojo so you don’t miss out. Thank you as always. Mr Dalby

Year 5 Spring Term 2 Curriculum Information

Welcome back Year Five. I hope everyone has had a restful holiday and is excited to be back at school after the February half term. We are now more than halfway through the academic year!

Our class read for this half-term is ‘Wonder’ which is a brutally powerful story of a 10-year-old boy named August Pullman, who has a facial abnormality. He is an ordinary kid who plays Xbox, is obsessed with Star Wars, but despite the 27 operations done for his face he will never look the same as others. The author R. J. Palacio wrote Wonder after an incident where her son noticed a girl with a severe facial difference and started to cry. Fearing he would react badly, Palacio attempted to remove her son from the situation, however this made the situation worse for the person with the facial abnormality who felt even more unusual. I am hoping this story based on true events will inspire kindness to those who are different from ourselves.

In English last term, our non-narrative writing focused on developing a biography written about the great environmentalist David Attenborough. In this term, our non-narrative writing will focus on creating a balanced argument about ‘screen time’ where we will have the opportunity for some debates. In our creative write, we will continue to develop our ideas following the book called the ‘Nowhere Emporium’. The Nowhere Emporium arrives in Glasgow, orphan Daniel Holmes stumbles upon it quite by accident. Before long, the 'shop from nowhere' with its owner, Mr Silver pull Daniel into a breath-taking world of magic and enchantment. For those who love Harry Potter you are certainly going to enjoy this book.

For Maths the focus of the term will to be to continue our development of fractions. This requires a secure knowledge of times-tables. Please can we make sure that all students to continue to develop this at home; you can sing, shout, and chant those times-tables every night. Furthermore, we will be looking at area/perimeter of shapes with a more practical outlook on how the learning takes place. For many jobs in the world, it is vital to have a good understanding of measuring area/perimeter.

In Physical Education we will have a focus on improving communication and teamwork. The much-anticipated football will take centre stage this term. I know lots of people are excited for this. Coinciding with football we have another team sport handball. I am really looking forward to teaching P.E. this term.

In geography lessons this term we will be learning about Australia, particularly the physical and human geographical features of Australia. It is one of those countries that has always fascinated me. Miss Keyte will be an expert as she spent a few months travelling there a few years ago. Australia is so big that you can travel by plane to northern parts of Africa from the U.K by the time it takes to get from Sydney (east coast) of Australia to Perth (west coast) of Australia. Crazy!

For history we have the important topic of learning about the ‘Transatlantic Slave Trade’ and looking at the origins of why it began in the first place. There will be some sensitive subjects discussed but it is important part of human history. The Atlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of various enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas.

In Science we will be moving away from our biology topic of ‘Living things and their Habitats’ and instead focusing on the element of physics where we will be learning about ‘Forces’. There are some exciting experiments which are going to take place, which even I can remember doing at school.

We do have lots of other exciting things taking place in school throughout the term so please keep up to date with dojo. Thank you as always.

Year 5 Spring 1 Curriculum Information

Welcome back Year Five. I hope everyone has had a restful Christmas holiday and is excited to be back at school.  

Our class read for this half-term is the famous story ‘Romeo and Juliet’ written by William Shakespeare. It is a tragic love story where the two main characters, Romeo, and Juliet, are supposed to be sworn enemies but fall in love. Due to their families' ongoing conflict, they cannot be together, a captivating story with a tragic ending. The theme throughout this term has a focus on the importance of reading and developing reading skills.  

In English last term, our non-narrative writing focused on writing a non-chronological report of different mountains and the children learnt so much. This term our non-narrative writing will focus on biography writing where we will develop new techniques of writing. The biography will be written about ‘David Attenborough’ and compliment our science lessons, which will intertwine with English this term. Our narrative writing will focus on Anthony Browne’s ‘Gorilla’ story. Anthony Browne's incomparable artwork illuminates the deeply satisfying story of a lonely girl, a friendly gorilla, and their enchanted night out. A brilliant story which will hook in our reluctant readers and writers.

For Maths our focus for the beginning of the half term will be the continuation of our multiplication and division. This will then supplement the second part of the term where we will move onto fractions, decimals, and percentages. Timestables yet again is key to the learning taking place. This is important that TTRS is being completed and parents help support children with this area of mathematics. 

Geography lessons this term we will be learning about UK Geography: East Anglia, The Midlands, Yorkshire, and Humberside and how the topography is different in these locations. In History we move away from the British Empire and start learning about the French Revolution, where there are some interesting battles to learn about. Finally, our science lessons are based around ‘Living Things’ which ties nicely to our learning around David Attenborough.

We have a few exciting events planned please keep a look out on Class Dojo for photos of our learning, information, and updates. Please also remember spelling books and maths homework books must come back to school every Monday. Thank you.

Year 5 Autumn 2 Curriculum Information

After a great first term I am very excited to welcome the class back. Our class read for this half-term will be three classic stories condensed into shorter reads. Our first read is about Robinson Crusoe a true story of a Scotsman who was left on a desert island after a quarrel with the captain of his ship. Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked and survives for nearly thirty years on an island often visited by cannibals, before he is finally offered a chance to escape. Our second read focuses on the classic tale Robin Hood Robin Hood was a fictional character from old English stories. Robin Hood was said to be from a place in England called Nottingham. Robin Hood was a bandit, or a criminal. Along with his friends, whom he called Merry Men, he would steal from the rich people in town and give the money to the poor people. Our final short story ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ is an adventure story (in reality, a misadventure story) involving several voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, a ship's surgeon, who, because of a series of mishaps en route to recognised ports, ends up, instead, on several unknown islands living with people and animals of unusual sizes, behaviours, and philosophies, but who, after each adventure, is somehow able to return to his home in England where he recovers from these unusual experiences and then sets out again on a new voyage.

In English last term, our writing focused on refugeeism and climate change, particularly deforestation of rainforests. This term during our non-fiction writing we will be writing about the tallest mountain on the planet ‘Mount Everest’. We have already read the picture book ‘First to the Top’ which is about Edmund Hillary and his sherpa Tenzing Norgay being the first people in history to reach the summit of Everest. The English lessons will be heavily complemented by our geography lessons as we are learning about mountains- this is one of my favourite topics to teach. Our big question for geography is ‘Where are different mountains located?’

For Maths we will be continuing to develop our timestables knowledge. Our focus of this half term will be focusing on multiplication and division. This is such an important part of mathematics at primary school because all other elements of maths that we must cover like: fractions, decimals, area etc all require good knowledge of multiplication and division. This is important that TTRS is being completed and parents help support children with this area of mathematics.  

In Physical Education we will be using our fitness from last term to help us with other parts of P.E. Our focus will be on gymnastics and cricket. On Friday afternoons we will continue with PHSE lessons which will have an important focus on ‘celebrating difference’.

Our history topic this term is ‘The Early British Empire’ and how Britain created an empire across the globe. We are very lucky to have a historian from Leicestershire libraries join us in class to teach us how to think like historians and source different types of evidence. The big question for history will focus on: Do British Values extend further than Great Britain? This will enable the class to look in detail at other countries that were part of the empire.

Finally, our science lessons will be looking at different types of ‘materials’ where at the end of the term the pupils will be answering the big question ‘Why do materials have different properties and states of matter? In science lessons we will be completing a range of experiments and the class will look at how to complete a fair test.

This half-term we also have our school trip to Leicester where we will be visiting a local Mosque, a military resilience training day with soldiers from a local army barrack, a British Values focus on the World Cup, a visit from the Creative Learning services who will be teaching us more about Remembrance Day and then a Christmas visit where we go back in time to see what Christmas was like in Leicestershire in the 1800s!

Please keep a look out on Class Dojo for photos of our learning, information, and updates. We have lots more exciting experiences planned for this half-term.

Year 5 Autumn 1 Curriculum Information

What a great start to the year ahead! We have an exciting half-term planned. Our class read will be based on the ‘Windrush Child’ which we have already began reading in school. Benjamin Zephaniah the author of the book describes the book as "historical, fiction, but true story" and it's about a young boy's journey from Jamaica to England. The character in the book Leonard finds himself in complete shock when he and his Mother arrive off the ship to find themselves in Southampton port. His Father who is living in Manchester already, moved from Jamaica to better his life for him and his family, however Leonard struggles to adapt to life in England and not really knowing his Father. The book follows an exhilarating, eye opening journey which opens the eyes to the reader to all the issues people face trying to better themselves by moving country. This is a story which is extremely relatable to some members of our class who have moved from a different country. This book encourages all of our school values and links nicely to our Personal, Social and Health and Education lessons where we are looking at ‘Being Me in My World’.

In English we are following a similar kind of story to our class novel. The fascinating picture book is called ‘The Journey’, which follows a family trying to flee a conflict. This book will be the base to our English writing lessons. Our writing will follow the journey of the family fleeing the conflict area, which will then result in an independent write about a new beginning.

For Maths we will be continuing to develop our timestables knowledge. However, our main strand of Maths is a really important part to learn which is ‘Place Value’ that’s why we are beginning our maths with this strand. We will be dealing with numbers up to 1,000,000.

In Physical Education we will be focusing on Fitness and Yoga. Our Friday afternoons of Yoga and PHSE should be a really good way to reflect on the previous week. For our Geography lessons, we are going to focus on ‘Spatial Sense’ which means the study of the locations of things, the conditions at different places, and the connections between places. Thinking about the world in spatial terms (spatial thinking) allows students to describe and analyse the spatial patterns and organisation of people, places, and environments on Earth. Particularly we will be focusing on the different hemispheres. Our BIG QUESTION: How do maps help locate places?                                                                

In history, we are going to be focusing on our topic of Ancient Baghdad, where we will be looking at the rise of the Islam. Baghdad was the centre of learning during the golden ages in the year 900CE. Baghdad was home to the first universities, hospitals and the largest library ‘House of Wisdom’ in the world. Many scholars travelled to this amazing circular city to study. The class will also take part in some drama and look at how Baghdad was destroyed by the Mongols leaving the river Tigris completely black from the ink from the ‘House of Wisdom’.

Finally, our science lessons will be looking at ‘The Human Body’ particularly the different stages of the human body growing up. Therefore, we will be looking at adolescence, puberty, adulthood and then slowing down in later life. Throughout our learning this half-term, we will be trying to answer our BIG QUESTION: How does our body change over time?                                               

Please keep a look out on Class Dojo for photos of our learning, information, and updates. We have lots more exciting experiences planned for this half-term such as Ronald Dahl day, Farm in a box activity day and much more.